No tender process - EBU hires new presschief using the same PR agency

Torbjörn Ek

Following Aftonbladet's investigation, the job of Eurovision press chief has been advertised.

But it is still being dealt with by the same PR agency as before - all without any tender process.

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The European Broadcasting Union and the Eurovision Song Contest are funded by Swedish and European TV licence and taxpayers. But as the new press chief for the world's largest entertainment TV show is to be appointed, it’s being managed by the same PR agency as before - without any tender process.

Aftonbladet's investigations made Eurovision press chief Jarmo Siim resign, but while his position has been advertised, it hasn’t been done by the EBU.

Instead, the advertisement is found on the Facebook page of Wow Works, the same company that hired Siim, and which was at risk of losing all its contracts with the EBU if the union had found Siim's conduct to be unethical.

But in an email to Aftonbladet, EBU head of communications Michelle Roverelli states that it will not proceed with its investigation following the resignation of Jarmo Siim.

This means that the EBU has decided not to further investigate what Aftonbladet's article had proven. Among other things, how Siim's actions were investigated by Eurovision event manager Sietse Bakker - who is also the CEO of Wow Works and at risk of losing contracts worth more than €400,000 a year, had the investigation proved that Siim had acted unethically. And that was something questioned by the secretary general of the Swedish Anti-Corruption Institute, Helena Sundén.

No tender process

Instead, Wow Works remains in charge of the official website Eurovision.tv and all communications for the Eurovision Song Contest - a contract the company has been managing for more than seven years, all without any tender procedure, according to an investigation by Typologies, the media watchdog column of Greek newspaper Paron.

Aftonbladet has repeatedly tried to obtain answers from Eurovision executive supervisor Jon Ola Sand and his superior, EBU director general Ingrid Deltenre - but they have failed to answer questions regarding the suitability of having Bakker conduct the investigation of his colleague Siim.

Sand and Deltenre are also yet to respond to questions about how the EBU’s relations with Wow Works have been affected by Aftonbladet's investigations.

Instead, head of communications Roverelli emailed a general statement saying that the matter is considered closed following Siim's resignation, despite the fact that the EBU's own ethical guidelines state that “It must be able to withstand the most rigorous standards of public scrutiny”.